Por:
María Carolina Rueda Salas
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Fecha:
2018
The North American housing affordability crisis is escalating each year. In Canada, approximately the 83 percent of all homeowners and 40 percent of all renters exceed their affordability threshold on an annual basis. This implies high prices that prevent low-income families from becoming homeowners.
Prefabricated, self-help kit homes are a potential solution to reduce housing cost, and to allow customers to participate in the decision-making process with respect to the design of their homes. The former is possible by eliminating paid labor and replacing it with sweat equity, while the latter is possible through the application of mass customization strategies that allow a high level of customer involvement during the pre-occupancy stage.
The main goal of this research is to identify the different strategies that manufacturers apply during the production of kit homes. In addition to the theoretical framework, this report consists of analyses of kit homes from eight manufacturers, including evaluations of their advantages and disadvantages with respect to both affordability and mass customization. These analyses led to the definition of guidelines for manufacturing kit homes in Quebec. These guidelines were based on the ideals of improving customer involvement and ensuring the feasibility of self-help construction, while also offering choices and flexibility within kit home packages and affordable options for buyers.
The main conclusion of this study is that self-help kit homes are approximately 45 percent less expensive than the conventional housing. However, this savings primarily depends on the ability of the buyers to be self-builders, and on the provision of cost-saving alternatives by manufacturers. Moreover, in terms of mass customization, both panelized and pre-cut prefabrication methods allow a tailored or pure customization. However, it is essential to facilitate the decision-making of customers during the post-occupancy stage as well, and to define more specific parameters and variations.
Fuente:
Biblioteca Virtual Banco de la República
Formatos de contenido:
Tesis
